Steam generator



May 18,1926. 1,585,329

El. W. CLEVENGER ET' AL STEAM GENERATOR Filed March 28', 1924 Il!! Il n attoz nu;

Patented May 18, 1926.

UNl'lE STATES PATENT ENCE.

ELMER W. CLEVENGER AND JOHN :PAUL WINE, OF STEPHENS CITY, VIRGINIA, .AS- SIGNORS F ONE-THIRD TO DRUM INGRAM, OF MARTINSERG, W'EST VIR(.`+I1\`\'IA.y

STEAM GENERATOR.

Application filed March 28, 1924. Serial No. 702,654.

This invention relates to steam generators generally and more particularly to a water compartment adapted to be arranged adj acent and serve as a closure for the fire door 5 of a lime kiln or other furnace structure.

-In thevoperation of lime kilns it is the present practice to provide a steam generator for supplying live steam to the ash pit of the kiln to assist combustion of the fuel and maintain `fuel economy. The kilns usually are provided with sheet iron or other thin metal doors which in operation soon become warped and cracked due to the intense heat within the kiln and must be discarded.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a waterr compartment adapted to serve as a closure for the fire door of a lime kiln or other furnace, the water within the compartment being adapted to maintain a door temperature sufhciently lowl to prevent damage to the door from the heat of the fire box.

A further object is the provision of a device of the above mentioned character which is adapted to generate steam by virtue of its proximity to the fire within the kiln, the steam being fed to the ash pit in the usual manner.

A further object is the provision of a device of t-he above mentioned `character which is adapted to be moved to open the lire door to provide access to the fire box, novel means being employed for feeding water to the water compartment and drawing steam therefrom without interfering with the movement of the door.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course 10 of the following` description.

In the drawings we have shown oneembodiment of the invention. In this showing,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of the front wall of a lime kiln showing the device in place,

Figure 2 is a section on line 2--2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a similar view on line 3 3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a similar view on line 1 -4 of .Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a detail perspective of the upper end of the door and associated elements,

.Figure G is a section on line 6 6 of 5 Figure 1, and,

Figure 7 is a detail perspective of a modified form of piping` connection.

Referring to the drawings the nume-ral 10 designates the front wall of a lime kiln or other furnace structure having a fire door opening 11 and an ash pit door 12 of the usual construction whereby access is permitted to the vfire box and ash pit. The wall 10 is provided upon opposite sides of the opening l1 with vertical guides 13 and a transverse stop 14 is arranged acrossthe wall 10 beneath the lower limit of the openingll ther-ein.

rlhe numeral 15 designates the steam generator as a whole comprising a hollow relatively flat metal receptacle divided by a vertical wall 16 to provide a water compartment 17 and a steam compartment 18. As shown in Figure 4 the compartment 18 is arranged wholly outwardly of the opening 11 so that the fire within the fire box does not act directly upon the rear wall of the compartment 18. The generator 15 is provided upon opposite sides near the rear edges thereof with vertical flanges 19 received within the guides 13 and adapted to reciprocate vertically therein. The stop 14 is adapted to engage the lower wall of the generator 15 when the lat-ter is in its normal position to limit the downward movement of the generator. The water compartment may be provided with a suitable gage glass 2U and the rear wall of the generator is preferably provided with spaced reinforcing mel'nbers 90 21 adapted to assist in preventing tne warping 0f the rear wall if the level of the water in the water compartment is not maintained at the proper point. The outer face of the generator 15 is provided on opposite sides 95 with racks 29. for a purpose to be described.

A pair of bearings 23 are secured to the wall 10 of the kiln outwardly of the guides 13 and these bearings project beyond the outer face of the generator l5 as clearly shown in Figures 2 ant i. A transverse shaft 2d is mounted to revolve in the bearings 255 and is provided at one end with an operating crank Pinions 26 are secured to the shaft 2l and adapted to mesh with the racks 22 as will be obvious.

Referring to Figure 3 of the drawings the numeral 27 designates a vertical tube secured to the upper wall of the water compartment and depending to a point adjacent the bottom wall thereof. The tube 2T projects upwardly beyond the upper wall of the water compartn'ient and is provided at its upper end with a stuiiing box 2S snugly receiving a stationary pipe 29 connected at its opposite end to a suitable source of water supply. As shown in Figure 3 the pipe 29 projects only a slight distance below the upper wall of the water compartment when the device is in normal position and the pipe is adapted to slide within the stuffing bon 28 when the generator is moved upwardly. it is obvious that the lower end of the tube 2T will feed water into the generator below the level of the water in the water compartment at all times so that condensation of steam above the surface of the water is minimized.. Vlhe steam compartn'ient 18 is also provided with a depending tube 30 but this tube need not extend a substantial distance downward ly beyond the upper wall of the steam compartment. The tube l() entends upwardly beyond the generator and is provided at its upper end with a stuffing box 3l to slidably receive a stationary steam pipe 32, the lower end of which terminates at substantially the same horizontal level as the lower end of the pipe 29. rlhe pipes 29 and 32 extend vertically beyond the generator a suliicient distance to permit the generator to be moved upwardly to completely open the lire box. As shown in Figure 3 the pipe 32 is provided with a depending portion 33 which communicates as at 34 with the ash pit of the kiln. A. steam pipe 35 is connected between the water compartment and the steam compartment as shown in Figures 3 and 6.

In Figure lof the drawings we have shown a modified form of external piping connection. in the modified form we provide a water supply pipe 3G in the forni of a fiexible hose connected to the upper end of the tubular member 27 by a union 3.7 of the usual type. It will be obvious that similar 'lexible hose and union connections can be substituted in place of the pipe 32 and stuiing bor; 3l.

The operation of the device is as follows:

lWater is fed into the water compartment through the pipe 29 and tube 2.7 to a level preferably near the top of the water com partment whereby the rear wall thereof will be maintained at a suliiciently low temperature to prevent damage thereto. Steam generated within the water compartment passes over into the steam compartment 1S through the pipe 35 from whence it passes through the pipe 82 into the ash pit of the kiln. 'Ehe generator may be readily raised by revolvingl the handle 25 as will be obvious and when the generator is raised the lower ends of the pipes 29 and 32 approach the bottom wall of the generator. inasmuch as there is no water present in the steam compartment 1S the lower end of the pipe 32 may move downwardly to a point near the bottom of the steam compartment without danger ot water being blown through the pipe 32 into the ash pit. As previously stated, water fed into the water compartment will at all times pass below the surface -of the water therein by virtue of the arrangement of the lower end of the tube 27.

The operation of the form of the device shown in ligure 7 is substantially the same as in the forni previously described. In the modified form, however, it will be obvious that the lower end of the hose 36 is rigidly secured to the upper end of the tubular member 27 and will reciprocate therewith, rcciprocation being permitted by virtue of the flexibility of the hose. As previously stated a flexible hose may also be substituted for the steam pipe lt will be obvious that the device is adapted for long service as a door for a lime kiln or other furnace structure by virtue Iof the cooling of the rear wall by the water. At the same time the heat of the lrilu is utilized to generate steam to be fed into the ash pit without the use of a separate generator thus effecting economy in operation.

lt is to be understood that the form of our invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the saine and that various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described claim:

l. A device of the character described comprising' a pair of spaced guides adapted to be arranged on opposite sides of the lire box opening' of a furnace, a casing slidably mounted in said guides and divided transversely by a vertical wall to form water and steam con'ipartments, said steam compartment being adapted to be arranged wholly to one side of the lire box opening, a pipe communicating between the upper ends of said compartnients, means for supplying water to said water compartment, and a our invention, we

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steam pipe connected to said steam comments, means for supplying Water to said partment. Water compartment, and a steam pipe oon- 2. A device of the character described neeted to said steam compartment. 10 comprising an integral easing divided by In testimony whereof We affix oui1 signa- 5 a transverse Vertical wall to form Water and tures.

steam compartments, a pipe communicating ELMER W. CLEVENGER. between the upper ends of said compait- JOHN PAUL WINE. 

